Morning journal and courier., 1887-11-07

fish Hall By Rev. John c. CoIItDs-
 Juvenile ReformatorIes Polio, Courts, Etc.
 Rev. John c. Collins gave an interestine
 and suggestive talk at English Hall last even
 ing.
 He referred to the list of twenty murders
 committed in the State since January Isl, ,ant
 said that the crime of murder is usually tht
 eliminating outbreak of a lawless life. 4
 shrewd detective could undoubtedly gc
 through this State and pick out the men and
 women whose previous lives and present sur | roundings mark them to-day as the proba- ble murderers of tomorrow.
 It may be well to be reminded that while
 we have before us this shameful record of l crime, that such crimes have behind them 1 courses which have led up to them, and in
 seeking for the causes and remedies it is nec- essary to go further back than the crime it. self and to understand that the one who l committed murder this year was, perhaps, | the neglected child of drunken parents a l few years since, and, as far as he had dared l to, had lived in violation of the laws of men and without a thought of the judgment of God; that the boy who was arrested for 8 petty quarrel and thought before the
 City court and stupidly locked in prison with l older criminals in 1878 is on | the way to be the murderer of helpless old woman in 1887; that the one hundred and l fifteen young people between the ages of l and 20 years who were arrested in the city of New Haven during the months of July and
 August, and the five hundred hoys whom I understand were arrested during the past year in one of our neighboring cities, and the hundreds of youth in other parts of the State who have felt the hand of the officers of the law upon them, are unquestioned evi. dence not only that there are crimes other I than murder largely prevalent in our own State, but an indication if not a proof that a 1 murder is not made up in an hour
 He referred to the causes-the glaring neg lect by parents and guardians in training children. Intemperance is potent cause The speaker referred to the system of con fning young people in our lockups with old CT criminals and also the juvenile reforma- tory system criminal makers. He thought the system of short term imprisonment with the publicity attached to it and consequent disgrace, oftentimes the result of a hasty trial in which the facts have not been fully weighed, helps many young man and young woman along the road to ruin, dishonor and lives of crime.
 Police courts, instead of being as is the case now oftentime the manufacturers of
 criminals, might be made under a wise syg-
 tenn mighty instruments for reforming and
 correcting the lives of new beginners in
 crime. For example, here is & young girl
 
 years old, but she is too old to be sent to the
 Reform school, fortunately. She has been
 doing wrong and now for the first time she is
 beginning to learn that the "way of the
 transgressor is hard" Suppose she is told
 that her cause will be continued for thirty or
 sixty days and i'll case she keeps from the streets and is obedient to her parents no pun ishment will be inflicted upon her, but if she does not and persists in her evil course she will be sentenced to confinement in prison; and suppose the case has been judiciously continued for two or three days and she has been locked up alone and fed on prison fare during that time, and in addition suppose that wise sympathetic police matron is in constant contact with her. visits her and re- ports to the court concerning her conduct, would not the State in such a case have done all that it could to help her to a good life? Such a course would undoubtedly result in a majority of cases-for have seen and 1 know what I am talking abont-in thorough re- formation. Now, suppose on the other hand l that such girl was locked up in the prison l pen with lot of criminals, taken in the l prison van with lot of rough men to the 1 county jail, locked up for two days with some of the most hardened l of Connecticut and then given thirty l days in jail, would not the probability be | that she was being helped to become a second | Mrs. Alexander, who could murder & man for the paltry sum which she hoped to get for the sale of his body to physician. Off cials of city court ought to have as great a knowledge of human nature of law, and sense ought to be one of the most important qualifications for the position. I wish it to be understood that am criticising l 8 system and condition of things and net l persons. There are some things awry in our l system of dealing with smaller offenders that can never be remedied by any judge until the entire system is corrected. For example, I | have seen Judge Pickett in our own City court endeavor to prevent a girl under six teen years old, when her ease had been con- 5inued for day, being locked up with hard ened and vicious women at the jail, and he was powerless to do it. The pay of City l court officials ought to be largely increased, which would of necessity secure and keep better men in the position and the term of service ought to be greatly if not indefinitely engthened. When judge becomes familiar .fter two or four years of service with the va 'ious and intricate details of his position and acquires much useful knowledge in ways of leailng with offenders 1t certainly is not for 1 he interest of the community that new and lntried officials should be put ill their places. We ought also to have fewer, in my judg- nent, instead of more police officers in a city ike New Haven, men whose character and intelligence would give them discrimination l md place them above low personal motives n making arrests. Such men would com nand and ought to have, and I believe the public would gladly give, a much larger alary than that now received. As it s, the good police officer is kept down y the inefficient one. In short, one # the potent remedies for crime in this or my other State would be the exercise of olid common sense by our police officers md courts in dealing with the beginners in ,rime
 The final remedy which I shall suggest would be a more vigorous and Christ like in crest on the part of Christians in those who 'ither have taken plunge into crime or are preparing to do so. Go about our streets my evening, see the great number of boys md girls taking their first lessons in crime; hink for a moment that this is only repe- ition of what is taking place in other cities nd towns in this State. What would an arnest Christian spirit suggests How could t suggest anything but the occupying of hese idle hands and minds with good thingsa While do not wish to say a word against oreign missions, it seems to me that there 5 too much thought and too much money iven by Christians to foreign missions, to he neglect of the needs at home.